Category Archives: Levant

It's been just over one year since the liberation of Aleppo from radical Islamist insurgent groups which were backed by the West as well as Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. And this Christmas has witnessed huge public celebrations, tree lightings, concerts, and dances in a city which only a short while ago was associated […]

Hundreds of protesters in Lebanon faced off with security forces outside the US Embassy in Beirut on Sunday over President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Protesters near the U.S. embassy in Awkar, in Beirut, Lebanon December 10, 2017. Protesters waving Palestinian flags threw projectiles, smoke grenades, set fires in the […]

Washington's past decade of Syria policy has been driven by fears of the so-called "Shia crescent" or Iranian land bridge which would conceivably connect Tehran with the Mediterranean in a continuous arch of influence. With events rapidly unfolding in Iraq and Syria, foremost among them the defeat of ISIS and the connection of Syrian and […]

Saad Hariri finally returned to Beirut late on Tuesday amid tight security after what was essentially a two week house arrest in Riyadh which began on November 4 after his resignation announcement in Saudi Arabia. Lebanese television aired live footage of the former prime ministers plane landing, though he left without addressing the expectant throng […]

Submitted by Elijah Magnier, Middle East based chief international war correspondent for Al Rai Media Hezbollah has raised its military readiness on the whole Lebanese territory in the last few days and put its forces on high alert in the light of the threats it has received from a number of countries, and especially from […]

Submitted by Elijah Magnier, Middle East based chief international war correspondent for Al Rai Media Iraqi forces continue to advance on al-Qaem, the last "Islamic State" (ISIS) stronghold in Iraq, which will put the last stone over the terrorist group’s grave and on the so-called “Islamic State Caliphate” that so much occupied the world’s headlines over […]

Submitted by Elijah Magnier, Middle East based chief international war correspondent for Al Rai Media Iraqi Kurds voted “yes” in the referendum to start materializing the dream of the 30 million Kurds inhabiting Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Armenia – a dream which begins by establishing an independent state in Iraqi Kurdistan. Despite the announcement of the […]

Authored by Adam Garrie via TheDuran.com, What was once mission difficult is now mission impossible – at least for the foreseeable future… Donald Trump has yet again stated that he seeks to have good or even “great” relations with Russia. Speaking beside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Trump stated, “I hope that we do have good […]

The Pentagon has just confirmed deployment of US Special Forces in Lebanon to support the Lebanese Army in an upcoming coordinated military campaign aimed to clean out an ISIS border pocket in the country's northwest. Regional media outlets are describing the coming major new offensive as "imminent". But awkwardly for the US, the fight will […]

Authored by Pepe Escobar via Asia Times, China and Syria have already begun discussing post-war infrastructure investment; with a 'Matchmaking Fair for Syria Reconstruction' held in Beijing Amid the proverbial doom and gloom pervading all things Syria, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune sometimes yield, well, good fortune. Take what happened this past Sunday […]